Seminar – Equal Partnerships – African intermediary cities as actors in urban migration governance

Africa is witnessing an ongoing transformation from rural to increasingly plural urban societies. While this transformation has been well-documented, the focus of scholarship and policymakers has been predominantly on migration and refugee movements into major urban areas and capital cities. In contrast, intermediary cities, the in-between the rural and the metropolitan, have been largely absent in policy and academic debates. Addressing this gap becomes all the more important, as African intermediary cities are increasingly impacted by mixed migration movements and (inter)national policies, without necessarily having adequate legal mandates, nor financial and human resources to accommodate and protect vulnerable migrants and refugees. To address such challenges, some local authorities have begun to engage in multi-stakeholder partnerships, bringing together local, national, and international actors. Based on research collaborations of the Equal Partnerships project with intermediary cities in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda this session explores central stakeholders, risks, and opportunities of such partnerships and presents policy recommendations for discussion.